


DanganRonpa: Ryu

by andysine



Category: danganronpa despair madness
Genre: Gen, M/M, listen, this is a fangame for dr that we made i'm gonna write my own damn fanfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-11-16 08:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andysine/pseuds/andysine
Summary: ryu's life after drdm thanks i lov u kisses





	1. Prologue

His name was Ryu Hotaru and he was the first one born to his mediocre family. His parents were in a loveless marriage, but that didn’t matter to either of them. As long as their incomes added up nicely, they both agree to stay. More often than not, Ryu had a dinner plate in front of him on the table and a heater to keep him healthy. Five safe years passed, until a surprise baby knocked the value of their income down. Half of the week Ryu would see his dinner, and half of the week his parents would share their room with each other. It only took a year for his newest sibling to be born, and by then their house was the epicenter for domestic riots. 

His mom woke him up in the middle of the night with a yank to his arm. She told him they were leaving, and she said to grab everything of value in the house. Ryu left his home that night with a baby in his arms and a hand gripping his wrist, as he ran on with jewels jingling in his pockets from the silent house behind them. Their new home, if you could call it that, was a small flat that was positioned at the side of a river. On their way there, she waded through the river and told him that it was time he learned to swim. The next day he woke up vomiting water. At least the rent was cheap, mainly because when it would rain, water would flood the basement and make it’s way into the first floor, decorating it with puddles. Ryu shared a room with his siblings, and they hid from their mother together. 

His name was Ryu Hotaru and he picked up morse code out of necessity. His siblings and him tapped it to each other when his mother screamed that she’ll kill them if she hears them talk. They tapped “I love you” and “Goodnight” into the palm of each other’s hands. SOS was standard code for them to signal to each other whenever their mother was going on one of her rampages. Unfortunate for them, she knew SOS, nearly everyone did, and it only fueled her rage. Ryu knew he had to learn a more complicated communication. 

The local library of the nearby town became his home, and he used it to create intricate codes. Ones that he taught to his siblings. Some that were silent and only conveyed through a series of blinks or facial movements, some that used everyday words and sentences to convey a deeper meaning. It was by sheer accident that he came across the threatening message scrawled in graffiti on a street corner, and it was by a sheer stroke of brilliance that he decoded the threat to public safety.

His name was Ryu Hotaru and he had just gotten a job as a cryptographer for the government. He would be given a hearty paycheck for his everyday work, and even more if he brought some useful information in. Before his first day on the job, he was excitedly telling his siblings the news, letting them know that soon they would be free from their mother’s clutches. She heard the news and erupted into screaming. How dare he leave her. How dare he take away her children? Didn’t he know that he was indebted to her? She fed him and housed him. It was then that he was dragged by his hair to the river next to their house and thrown into it’s murky depths. He remembered watching the bright blue sky obscured by dirty water, as his mother’s hand held his head down. He was left to drown, and would have if the second child of the Hotaru family hadn’t snuck over and dragged him out.

He was allowed to stay in the house, and was allowed to keep his job as long as he gave all he had to her. He created two checking accounts and transferred a small sum to her every so often to mimic his pay. Nearly every other week, when she was unsatisfied with her own pay, she would attempt to drown him in the river telling him that It was time he learned to swim. The hand on the back of his neck made that hard. It was only when he was on his way to Hopes Peak High that she knew the depth of his fortune. He paid the rent for a small apartment for his two brothers to share, leaving his mother in a small shack by the river by herself. The next, and last, time he would see her is when she was dying of the plague.

His name was Ryu Hotaru, and he was the SHSL Cryptographer. Throughout his schooling days, he constantly fought to be left alone, obscuring his past with intricate lies so that no one could get close enough to him. He formed some positive relationships, and it could have been all fine and well, if they hadn’t broken that damn vial. After that. he wouldn’t remember the days he spent testing out lipsticks or gossiping with his best friend. He wouldn’t remember quiet conversations with the glassblower as they shared their stories. He wouldn’t remember confusing the daredevil, bantering with the head of the reserve course, or baking with the crocker. 

And he wouldn’t remember Haruki Takahashi, the only one to really find his way past Ryu’s sturdily built wall of lies and protection. Haruki was the only hope Ryu had truly found in a world that he knew was conspiring against him. He wouldn’t realize it until long after, but it was Haruki’s fault that Ryu wouldn’t remember the late nights of the both of them talking and laughing, lips centimeters apart. He wouldn’t remember Haruki’s warm hand in his own, as the two sat in class together, or the secrets he’d given to Haruki who’d promised to keep them, or Haruki squeezing his hand in support when the class carelessly discussing drowning. 

His name was Ryu Hotaru and he had just become the traitor of class 65. In his eyes it was the other way around, his classmates were the traitors for killing Mitsuko, he was just atoning for what he did. He killed someone; he had released a virus that in turn killed thousands, if not millions, of people and ruined the world. Outside of the sheltered off walls of the hotel, there was nothing for him. His siblings would be better off if they never had to know that he was the fault for what was inevitably their ruined lives. He was lost, and broken, but Haruki gave him purpose. Haruki gave him a light to follow and a person to believe in. Haruki had listened to his problems, and entrusted him with his own. 

But Haruki left him.

His name is Ryu Hotaru, but he is better known as Prime, these days. As a side job, he works for C.U.R.E., an organization built to combat the ill effects of the plague. His main career is leading the World’s most major, and powerful gang, mainly based off of pursuing the illegal act of tattooing, but they turn a blind eye to the other illegal affairs of the gang’s smaller branches. The head group of the gang is called the Ink in Irons, and it was Prime’s most trusted inner circle. All the members held faith in Prime as a leader, which is why they never asked him why he was looking for the boy who had lead to the death of 11 of his friends. 

Ezra’s younger sister had joined his gang, something he has been nervous about. He isn’t fit to look after her, and has been scared that she’d get hurt by the dangerous running abouts of the gang. His second in command, who went by Infinity, is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring her wellbeing, in a way that she wouldn’t know that she’s being looked after. Infinity knows that he has two jobs: Looking after Atsuko and looking after Ryu, although he’d never know it. Infinity played a major part in both the gang, and Ryu’s unhealthy coping mechanisms.

In fact, it was in Infinity’s bed that Ryu was told that a small offshoot gang had found Haruki.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> off he go

“Are you absolutely sure, Petals?” Infinity asked as he tried to mediate between Ryu and the skittish green haired man standing at the door. Petals’s hands were in his pockets with a bemused expression painting his face as Ryu’s knife swiped by harmlessly by in the air. Contrasting Petals’s calm visage and relaxed stance, Ryu was strung tight with rage as he was held in Infinity’s arms. Sweat stuck to all their backs as they dealt with a hotter day than usually was. The last thing anyone expected from a worldwide pandemic was the regulation of the world’s temperature to crash, as heat rose to wild degrees.

“‘Course I’m sure, ‘Finity,” Petals laughed, “I’d never lie to you or the boss man like that,” He leaned forwards, fluttering his fingers at Ryu, “Speakin’ of which, hey there. Yer lookin’ a bit angry there, Boss man. What gives? I came ‘ere bearing great news.” A lax grin stretched across his face as he teased Ryu, kicking an empty can aside from the cluttered bedroom floor. The soft carpet was lost under papers covering the floor and stray objects; the most recent object to call the floor its home being the clothes of Ryu and Infinity, tossed there carelessly the night before.

“You fucking know why I’m pissed, dickhole,” Ryu snapped, flipping Petals off with both his hands, knife dangling as the grip on it was sacrificed for the gesture, “If a door is locked, that usually means not to bust it open like some kind of action hero drop out, you fucking shit covered anus.” 

Petals chuckled lightheartedly, as if he didn’t pick their lock and shout “Stop fucking each other and check this” as soon as he woke them up with his yelling, “I figur’d it’d make ya happy to hear we got a lead on where yer boyfriend is. Not my fault ya ain't gettin’ a better lock system. ‘Sides, don’t be so pissy Prime, I made ya some coffee.”

Ryu’s knife clattered to the ground as it slipped from his grasp, and he slipped from Infinity’s restraining grasp to pick it up, tucking it back into it’s home in the pocket sewn into his shorts pants, “You can shove your coffee up your tight little–”

“Where’d you hear the lead from?” Infinity asked, glad to see Ryu in high spirits this morning. Normally, Ryu would wake in a numb trance and head straight to his theory board to see where they’d search for Haruki next, and on worse days they’d find that he had never actually slept and instead had snuck off to hook up with some gang member, “The Dawn’s Rising branch has been getting too close to C.U.R.E’s funding than we’d like. They just want to turn us in.”

“Nah, c’mon I know what I’m doing. I verified the claim with locals of the area an’ guess what.” Petals strode into the room, ruffling Ryu’s hair and flipping the deep pink locks to the other side of his head, cackling as he hopped back to avoid Ryu’s boot from connecting with his shin. He shared a grin with the gang leader, before tossing a bunch of photos onto the bed, “Check it.”

Ryu was the first to the bedside, looking through all the photos with hungry eyes, stare intense and focused on each photo. The pictures, though in black and white, were shots taken of a man in a wheelchair rolling down the street, ponytail at the back of his neck, shirt cut off his shoulders. Ryu’s hand rested on Haruki’s clip in his hair as he looked at the face of his boyfriend, “Oh fuck.” He muttered.

The room fell to a silence, only interrupted by the whirring from the fans that tried to keep the three as cool as possible. Ryu kneeled by the bed, grabbing the clearest photo and staring at the face. It seemed the two members present were holding their breath waiting for Ryu’s reaction. He pressed the photos to his chest, hold body trembling as he stared at the floor. Petals and Infinity shared a look, one of concern, and confusion on Petals’s part. “Ryu if you want we can–” 

In a flash, Ryu was out the door, grabbing his jacket and tank top off the floor, putting both on as he walks out of the bedroom and beelines towards the kitchen. The coffee machine splashed coffee sadly onto the floor, as the entire coffee pot was snatched up. The other two trailed him there, being joined by a white haired woman, her hair cropped short to her head. 

She butt in, not really sure what was going on, but knew she could offer her advice, “Prime, it’s ya gal. Wherever ya headed out to in sucha rush isn’t really too important, but we need ya back here especially if we gonna crusade after ya boy, yeah?” Her furrowed brows went back and forth from being directed at the two men shrugging in the hallway, to the one currently chugging burning hot coffee, “And come on man, use a fucken mug. We got the World’s Best Boss one for yer birthday.”

It seemed Ryu wasn’t going to answer for the longest time, until he finished his check and huffed, putting the pot back in the machine, “Yeah, I just need to call Akemi for advice. I did promise to give her updates n shit.” He leaned against the marble countertop as he shrugged his jacket on, “In the meantime, Eclypse get a van ready to go. Do we have any gas left?”

“Siphoned a baller amount from C.U.R.E. trucks last week, we should be good for a month.” Eclypse answered, grinning in pride.

“I’ll need some extra for this,” Ryu deadpanned, and Eclypse’s grin melted into pursed lips as she tried to do the math for how exactly long the gas would last now. Ryu stared across the run down kitchen of their base. This used to be such a nice house, but time and the apocolypse ran it down. The once blue walls were a dingy gray with chipping wall paper and unknown stains, many of which resembled blood. All the windows were cracked in different forms, but it was the closest thing to home he’s known in a very long time, “Infinity get Pi and get her back to C.U.R.E. to be with her brother. At least for a bit.”

“WHAT?” A new voice piped in, as a girl, younger than the rest, stomped into the large kitchen, rounding the counter. “Ryu! You said I could stay here!” Pi protested, hands on her hips.

“It’s just for a few weeks or so. Ezra wouldn’t want you getting in the mix of all this shit. If you practice a lot, I’ll let you tattoo your name across Petals’s forehead.” Ryu raised his brows, grabbing whatever box he grabbed first, cracking it open and shoving whatever was inside into his mouth.

“Fuck no you’re not!” Petals protested from out in the hall.

“Are you eating dried pasta?” Infinity asked, blocking Petals’s entrance to the kitchen.

“Guess so,” Ryu shrugged, crunching on the noodles, “Petals, good to hear you’re still here, because you and I are going on a road trip as soon as you narrow down the exact location.” Ryu’s words brought a grin to Petals’s face as he slips under Infinity’s arm, delivering a light punch to his side as he skips up to Ryu.

“Already got it down t’a a dingy little town in th’ middle of fuckall nowhere.” He slung an arm over Ryu’s shoulders, hand ruffling in his hair again as he does, “Perfect place to dissapear to if ya were hidin’ from literally everyone, wouldn’tcha think?”

“Sounds great, now get your ugly fingers out of my hair, shithead,” He smacked Petals’s hand, who only responded with a cackle as he slipped his hand back into his pocket casually.

“Go call yer murder buddy, Prime, we got this,” Petals assured, giving a corny thumbs up.

With a nod, he ducked out of the screen door, hanging onto the kitchen doorframe on it’s last life, walking down a bit in the scorching hot backyard, sending a squint of up to the trees with browning leaves, before punching in his friend’s number.

It rang for a bit, before going to voicemail. Her shitty C.U.R.E. issued flip phone must be out of batteries or something. He touched the off button on his smartphone, flicking sand out of the cracks in the screen, before leaning against the dry bark of what used to be a thriving tree.

Loneliness isn’t a good feeling, but most people could hold solace in knowing that there was at least one person out there who had their back. Ryu had a gang, one that felt like some semblance of family, but he knew that it wasn’t familial love that kept them talking to him day after day. It was the money, the promise of a roof over their head, and the rebellion against the grip C.U.R.E had on the world. Whatever their reason was, it was always there between being able to truly find himself close to them.

He knew that they were using him as much as he was using them. To them, he was a symbol of power and wealth, and to him they were lackeys to help him in his journey for Haruki. As much as he’d love to call them his friends, the moment he did he knew they’d take advantage of the breach in his wall and usurp the power for themselves. Even Akemi had more faith in C.U.R.E.’s workings than his own. A put together organization held much more trust than a group of criminals tattooing fake Immunity symbols for resources. 

Ryu slumped against the tree; the only one that he was ever sure was on his side was Haruki. His thoughts always ended here, and he kicked a few rocks glumly, sending Akemi a text to keep his mind off of the ordeal. 

‘Found lead. If u dont hear from me in a few weeks w results call this number’  
He attached Infinity’s contact information, a tear rolling down his cheek and adorning the screen as he hits send.

Pushing his glasses up to his forehead, he allowed himself to cry his heart out with the brown leaves and yellow sky as the only witnesses to his lament. His chest shook with sobs, chest hurting and tightening as he coughs out his sorrows.

No one would ever know him like Haruki. No one knew anything like Haruki knew the world.

He was incomplete without Haruki’s hand in his; his sleep was lacking without Haruki’s arms around his body, and the worst of it was he didn’t even know if Haruki was missing him like he was yearning for him. Every day since they were extracted from that island and hotel, Ryu’s chest was just an empty cavity, and he drowned in his own tears day after day.

“I hope you find him,” Pi said, standing in the doorframe to the house, screen door swinging open with a clatter as it banged against the outside of the house. Ryu’s head jolted up from the screen he was crying onto, vision blurry until the tears cleared and he could make out Pi, “I know a lot of people don’t want you to, but it’s so romantic what you’re doing for him. You’ll find him and be really happy.” She said, smiling at Ryu.

Ryu nodded, eyeliner marking the tear streaks down his face, “Yeah, I can hope,” His broken voice replied, as he just applied eyeliner over where it had come off, not bothering to clean up the new mess made. The eyeliner pencil came back damp with the tears still lingering on his face, and he just decided to leave that for later.

“But… What I really came to tell you is that your ride is ready.” Pi remarked, backing into the kitchen again, “Petals is in the truck waiting, ready to go when you are.”

Deciding to save the pity party for when he knew he wasn’t going to find Haruki, Ryu grabbed a backpack full of essentials from Infinity, who squeezed his shoulders and wished him luck.

“Be safe out there. Are you sure I shouldn’t come along too? Nothing wrong with extra backup,” Infinity double checked, worry on his face as he already envisioned the worst case scenarios.

“No. You’re in charge of getting Pi back to C.U.R.E. Nothing’s changing that, Eclypse is holding down the base, so Petals and I are going by ourselves.”

“But…” 

Whatever he was going to say, was ignored by Ryu, who walked on by to the side of the house where the truck sat waiting. Pulling the door open and sliding into the passenger’s seat, “Don’t let Pi get hurt, and don’t get caught by C.U.R.E. There’ll be no reception at fucking all for most the ride, so stay safe an’ shit.” He gave his last orders, before kicking his legs up on the dashboard, “Bye.”

With that, Petals swerved out of the makeshift driveway, tires screeching as he made a sharp turn, laughing as Ryu bolted up to hold onto the handle on the door to keep from slamming into Petals, “Lighten up, baby! We’re going to have a fun ass road trip and then you can go fuck your boyfriend to your heart's content. Maybe kill some more people if you’re feeling frisky,” He cackled, as they sped off down the sandy expanse.

“I fucking hate you.”


End file.
